NEW ORLEANS – The Coast Guard says it airlifted a man with heart disease from a sailboat in the stormy Gulf of Mexico to shore in Louisiana.

The Coast Guard said officials were called early Thursday about a husband and wife aboard a 64-foot sailboat bound for Houston from Cozumel, Mexico.

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The man had a history of heart disease. The woman said he was slumped over and unresponsive. A Coast Guard helicopter from Mobile, Ala., hoisted the couple from the sailboat and took them to a Coast Guard station near New Orleans, where the man was reported in stable condition. He was taken to a medical clinic.

Petty Officer Bill Colclough said the sailboat was left adrift and that the unidentified owner would work with an insurance company on salvage plans.